A former teacher at Gilman School in North Baltimore has been arrested on child sexual assault charges, according to court records.
Christopher Kenji Bendann, 38, was arrested Friday after Baltimore County Police executed a search and seizure warrant at his residence in the 100 block of Stanmore Road in Towson, police said in a news release Friday.
He faces felony charges of sex abuse of a minor, rape and sex offense, as well as misdemeanor charges of sexual contact and perverted practice. The allegations were from 2016 to 2019.
“We are aware that a former Gilman teacher has been arrested by authorities in Baltimore County,” said school spokesperson Brooke Blumberg. “We are committed to supporting our students and families as well as our broader Gilman community as they process this devastating news.”
Bendann was fired last month after school officials learned the middle school teacher allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with students off campus. The school did not share details of what happened, but Blumberg said teachers, parents, and students were made aware of the situation.
Child Protective Services alerted detectives last month that a teacher at the Gilman School had been terminated for “inappropriate and suspicious relationships with current and former students,” police said.
At least one victim provided information of sexual abuse by Bendann, police said. Detectives believe there are more victims and urge them to come forward.
Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.
Bendann is a 2003 graduate of the school and taught there for 15 years before being terminated, according to his LinkedIn page. Decades of alleged sexual abuse at Gilman from the 1950s to 2008 were documented in an investigative report commissioned by the school and obtained by The Baltimore Sun.